The community was especially generous during the holiday season’s Spread Joy Toy Drive sponsored by Navarro. More than 32,000 items were donated—nearly three times the number of toys donated the previous year—with a value of more than $800,000.
The 147 children admitted to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital on Christmas Day woke up to a bag full of individually wrapped toys selected for each child’s age and interests. The remaining toys have been stored and will be used to help celebrate every patient’s birthday throughout 2020.
This year, the “hot” items were 24-pack crayon packages, Hot Wheels car sets, Connect 4 games and Avengers puzzles.
One of the reasons for the large increase in donations may be that toy drive volunteers more than doubled this year, with 112 individuals hosting events, collecting toys, wrapping toys and staffing the drop-off locations.
Our patients need and depend on the generosity of others all year long, not just during the holiday season. Help spread joy throughout the year by joining Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Monthly Giving Circle. By investing in the health and happiness of children on a monthly basis, you can positively impact the lives of children and their families every day.
Make a monthly gift that will bring better health to our children and give you the deep satisfaction in knowing your gift is making the difference in the life of a child.
About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Your Child Matters Most ™ (2025)
For 75 years, Nicklaus Children's has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children serving close to 70 percent of children in the Miami metropolitan community. In addition, Nicklaus Children's offers care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center's De George Pediatric Unit and select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units. The hospital and its network of more of nearly 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. These outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care, and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS). Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children's is an academic and clinical affiliate of Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children's is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedic, Sports Medicine and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The 325-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with over 40 specialties, and an ambulatory surgery center.